Tag: Rancho Santana

The price you pay for a gorgeous destination wedding (beyond the actual price) is a lot of work on the front end, beginning about a year before your wedding date. The good news is everything doesn’t have to be done at once, as long as you spread out the to-dos over a 12-month period. To get you started, here’s a list of the top tasks to tackle one year prior to The Day.

1. Decide the Essence You Want Your Wedding to Exude.

Getting clear on the vibe, theme, spirit, or whatever you want to call it, for your wedding will make all your other decisions easier because you’ll have a better sense of what you’re trying to create. For example, my fiancé and I wanted the essence of our wedding to be classic, nature inspired, and surf centered. We ended up getting married on the beach in Nicaragua with a driftwood and local flower backdrop while surfers rode an epic set of waves behind us. I chose a classic lace dress and had white roses in my hair. Deciding on our “essence” before planning made it easier to craft our dream wedding.